U.S. Tries Again to Return City to Police

U.S. troops in Iraq will try this month for the third time in three years to return the Sunni city of Samarra to Iraqi police to escape the cycle of violence.

The attempt will be made by the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, so they can leave their Patrol Base. U.S. commanders say they cannot afford to fail this time because Samarra has come to symbolize the errors of U.S. strategy in Iraq, The Washington Post reports.

Samarra is one of those places where U.S. offensives have brought only temporary calm, followed by a new wave of insurgent attacks.

Calm has again returned since the Dec. 15 national elections but no one is certain how long it will last. The tough challenge for U.S. troops in Samarra and other Sunni cities has been to set up an effective police force so they can leave, but police have been targeted by insurgents, as well.